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The inside of this fine castle was even more beautiful than the outside; for the rooms were all hung with the richest damask, curiously ornamented; the chairs and sofas were covered with the finest velvet, fringed with gold; and all his table dishes and plates were either of silver or gold, finished in the most, elegant style. His carriages and horses might have served a king, and perhaps were finer than any monarch's of the present day. The gentleman's appearance, however, did not altogether correspond with his wealth; for, to a fierce disagreeable countenance, was added an ugly blue beard, which made him an object of fear and digsust in the neighbourhood, where he usually went by the name of blue beard.
There resided, at some considerable distance from Blue Beard's castle, an-old lady and her two daughters, who were people of; some rank, but by no means wealthy. The two young ladies were very pretty, and the fame of their beauty having reached Blue Beard, he determined to ask one of them in marriage. Having ordered a carriage, he called at their house, where he saw the two young ladies, and was very politely received by their mother, with whom he begged a few moments conversation.
